# Discourse Dictionary Plugin š
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484
**Category:** Plugin
**Created:** [January 11, 2022, 6:06am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484 "2022-01-11T06:06:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2022, 6:06am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/1 "2022-01-11T06:06:07Z")
**Summary** : The Discourse Dictionary plugin allows a user to add the dictionary meaning of a word to the first post of a topic. Hereās a short video to demonstrate the working.
š **GitHub** : [GitHub - fzngagan/discourse-dictionary: A discourse plugin to add meanings of a given word to the post Ā· GitHub](https://github.com/fzngagan/discourse-dictionary)
ā” **Install** : Follow the [plugin installation guide](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-a-plugin/19157).
### Features
- Allows a user (default to TL2) to select a dictionary meaning of a word via the composer. The selected word when hovered, will display a tooltip showing the selected meaning.
- Currently supports Oxford Dictionary API.
- Currently supports singular form of words i.e. `fungi` wonāt work youāll have to use `fungus`.
- The meanings are cached to the db for quick loads in the future and to avoid exhausting the API thresholds.
- You can tweak the values once theyāre loaded in the composer.
### Configuration
- Get your API credentials from [https://developer.oxforddictionaries.com/](https://developer.oxforddictionaries.com/)
- Use the `app id` for the site setting `discourse dictionary oxford app id`
- Use the `api key` for the site setting `discourse dictionary oxford api key`
- You can set the minimum trust level of userās who can access this feature using `discourse dictionary min trust level`
### TODO
- Support plural forms of words
- Support other Dictionary APIs
- Include tests
### Credits
Thanks a lot @sam
- Iāve drawn insipiration from the tooltip code in the `discourse-footnote` plugin.
- The markdown docs on meta were indispensable for writing this plugin.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/3 "2022-01-13T20:52:53Z")
Thank you so much for this @fzngagan! If the guides can be improved in any way donāt hesitate to let us know! š
---
### Author:  [@jimkleiber](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jimkleiber)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/4 "2022-02-16T02:18:00Z")
Iām quite excited to try this plugin. Not sure how yet, but will probably figure out a way to work it in.
One thing that came to mind was how helpful this may be for language learning. I went to the Oxford Dictionary documentation and saw that it seems possible to look up words in some other languages as well: [https://developer.oxforddictionaries.com/documentation/languages](https://developer.oxforddictionaries.com/documentation/languages)
I donāt know too much about Ruby programming, but from what I can see, it looks like it may be easy for me to tweak the plugin to use Spanish or Swahili by just changing the `dataset: 'en-us'` line to `es` or `sw` in this code block:
```plaintext
def self.fetch_from_api(word)
response = client().entry(
word: word,
dataset: 'en-us',
params: { fields: 'definitions' }
)
```
1. Do you think thatās all Iād have to change?
2. Have you thought about adding the option to use other languages?
Thank you for making this!
---
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 5:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/5 "2022-02-16T05:46:53Z")
> [@jimkleiber](#):
>
> Do you think thatās all Iād have to change?
I think so. š
---
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 5:49am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/6 "2022-02-16T05:49:16Z")
> [@jimkleiber](#):
>
> Have you thought about adding the option to use other languages?
My intention was to just launch it and see if thereās interest in the community. This plugin is a bit special to me because I made the spec for it almost 3 years ago when I didnāt have the know how of how to build it. š
Hereās my post
> **[Pavilion](https://pavilion.tech/)**
>
> Pavilion is the leading Discourse consultancy.
---
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 5:55am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/7 "2022-02-16T05:55:18Z")
@jimkleiber
Iāve also made sure new dictionary sources can be added easily. Happy to accept PRs in that regard too.
---
### Author:  [@jimkleiber](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jimkleiber)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 6:08am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/8 "2022-02-16T06:08:38Z")
Well then maybe this plugin can help me also learn how to build a plugin (and do a PR) āŗ Iāll take a look one of these days and let you know. Thank you!
---
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2022, 6:15am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/9 "2022-02-16T06:15:27Z")
> [@fzngagan](#):
>
> Support plural forms of words
The one thing which I didnāt touch was the lemma api to fetch the singular form of words. Its important because the oxford api especially(and probably others) work with singular form. That would be valuable too.
---
### Author:  [@abrambailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/abrambailey)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/10 "2022-09-22T14:41:52Z")
Hi @fzngagan ā¦ I have an interesting use case, and I wonder if your plugin could help me.
I run a forum that is for people with hearing loss and there are lots and lots of terms that newbies need to learn. We have a wiki with some definitions, but it would be very handy if we could add system definitions and have defined terms and acronyms be automatically underlined without the user setting the [dict] tag. Having the Oxford suggested definitions is handy, but I imagine many of these words will need custom definition.
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@fzngagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/fzngagan)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/11 "2022-09-23T04:10:18Z")
> [@abrambailey](#):
>
> but it would be very handy if we could add system definitions and have defined terms and acronyms be automatically underlined without the user setting the [dict] tag.
We have [Auto-Linkify Words](https://meta.discourse.org/t/linkify-words-in-post/82193) Theme Component but it goes only as far as converting an appearance of a word to a link. It can certainly be forked to achieve what youāre suggesting. You can hire a developer from #Marketplace if youāre happy to sponsor the work.
---
### Author:  [@denvergeeks](https://meta.discourse.org/u/denvergeeks)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2022, 6:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-dictionary-plugin/214484/12 "2022-09-24T06:42:56Z")
@abrambailey have you consideredā¦ the **abbrify words (with styling)** theme component? Iām using it to provide inline on-hover definitions on my siteā¦ you can se it in action here: [The Future of the Metaverse in Daily Life - Tech News and Tips - nšbish.me](https://noobish.me/t/the-future-of-the-metaverse-in-daily-life/284)
> [@Add \ tags to words in posts](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-abbr-tags-to-words-in-posts/88394):
>
> About This theme component is ported from [Auto-Linkify Words](https://meta.discourse.org/t/linkify-words-in-post/82193) to provide functionality similar to the [Abbreviations and acronyms plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/abbreviations-and-acronyms-plugin/38501) ā namely to wrap various abbreviations used in a given forum/site/Discourse installation in \ tags. Location [https://github.com/metabrainz/discourse-abbrify-words](https://github.com/metabrainz/discourse-abbrify-words)How to install Credits Thanks to @sam for writing the āLinkify words in postā plugin.
> [@Add \ tags to words in posts](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-abbr-tags-to-words-in-posts/88394/28):
>
> I did a rough user stylesheet (CSS) to allow me see tooltips on mobile. It requires [Stylus](https://add0n.com/stylus.html) extension (I use Firefox on Android that supports extensions). This kind of stuff could be included in the plugin but I actually use it on all sites. abbr[title]:hover { border: 2px solid white; color: #333; background: #FF6; } abbr[title]:hover:after { content: " (" attr(title) ")"; }